Best way of washing whites in your laundry

I'm not quite sure what bleaches you use in your country. But as far as Philippines is concerned, Perla Laundry soap is what is commonly used here to make white shirts whiter in our laundry. What we do is put a soap on the shirt, then wash it gently through hands. Then, we don't wash it yet. We place it in a basin with water of course and lay it down under the heat of the sun. After how many hours, probably around 5-6 hours after, we then wash it off. And there goes the white shirts! All fresh, clean and all white! :)

Personally I prefer to use bleach on my whites. I find it works great at getting stains out and making things brighter. However if you don't like using bleach here are some alternatives to it: 1. Oxiclean or equivelent 2. Borax 20 Mule Team 3. Baking Soda 4. Hydrogen Peroxide 5. Non-chlorine bleach Hope those help. Good luck with getting the whites whiter.

I try not to use bleach but there are times when I have to. When I wash whites I always let them soak for at least an hour; fill the wash half way, add your detergent then allow it to fill completely, add clothes and let it run for about five minutes then shut it off. Don;t lift the lift to turn it off, that lets out the heat and heat is one of the things that helps to get the stains out. After an hour (or longer if you have the time), turn it back on. I have an industrial machine so I can do huge loads. That way if I have to wash them twice it's not a big deal.

It depends on the hardness of the water in your area. I live in the mountains and we have very hard water. Any time bleach is used and I use it anyhow, I have to rewash everything with Rid Iron to take the brown out of the clothing. Once the bleach and water mix the minerals in the water turn the water brown and it does the same to the clothes. The odor is horrible from the Rid Iron. If anyone has an alternative to whitening clothing in hard water, I would love to hear about how.